Enfield Girl Creates Backpack For Dolls To Help Children Deal With Diabetes

A portrait of Anna Bemiss is requested.

MICHAEL McANDREWS, Hartford Courant

Enfield student Anna Bemiss impressed the judges at the Connecticut Invention Convention by designing the D-girl backpack for American Girl dolls. Anna, who has Type I diabetes, made an insulin kit backpack for her American Girl doll.

Enfield student Anna Bemiss impressed the judges at the Connecticut Invention Convention by designing the D-girl backpack for American Girl dolls. Anna, who has Type I diabetes, made an insulin kit backpack for her American Girl doll. (MICHAEL McANDREWS, Hartford Courant)

Enfield girl creates invention to help deal with her diabetes diagnosis

Enfield fourth-grader Anna Bemiss was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when she was in first grade.

Last school year as a third grader, Anna took part in the Connection Invention Convention, sponsored in town by the Enfield Foundation for Excellence in Education. She invented an item she said can help young children such as herself deal with the disease.

Anna, a 9-year-old student at Eli Whitney School, invented the D-girl pack for American Girl dolls, a doll-sized backpack that holds all of the necessary equipment Anna needs daily to manage her disease.

The invention has been on display at the Connecticut Science Center since August.

Having diabetes has changed the lives of Anna and her parents, Jeffrey Bemiss and Jennifer Beineke. Anna has to be mindful of her condition and take blood sugar tests before she eats. There's also an impact on her education.

Anna Bemiss

MICHAEL McANDREWS / Hartford Courant

Enfield student Anna Bemiss impressed the judges at the Connecticut Invention Convention by designing the 'D-girl backpack' for American Girl dolls. Bemiss, who has Type I diabetes, made an insulin kit backpack for her American Girl doll. Jeffrey Bemiss with his daughter Anna Bemiss.

Enfield student Anna Bemiss impressed the judges at the Connecticut Invention Convention by designing the 'D-girl backpack' for American Girl dolls. Bemiss, who has Type I diabetes, made an insulin kit backpack for her American Girl doll. Jeffrey Bemiss with his daughter Anna Bemiss. (MICHAEL McANDREWS / Hartford Courant)

"It makes things in school more difficult," Anna said. "I have to go to the nurse's office every day before I eat. And if I think I have low blood sugar, I have to go to the nurse in the middle of class and I miss a lot of stuff while I'm in the nurse's office."

Anna said her invention stems from how she felt when she was diagnosed with diabetes.

"I was really scared," she said. "This is for little girls who are first afraid. They might be really scared. If they have this, they might be less scared. And they can pretend their doll has it too."

Anna's idea is that by combining favorite toys such as American Girl dolls and the equipment she must always carry to manage her diabetes, girls will be less afraid of the disease.

"I wanted to do it for my invention because when I wanted to go some places I wanted to bring my doll and my diabetic kit, but it was hard to carry both," Anna said. "I tried to combine them."

The American Girl doll backpack also helps conceal the equipment, which includes insulin, a meter, testing strips, syringes, a finger pricker and snacks, from others in case a child is shy about revealing her condition.

"I don't really like people to know, but if they find out it's fine with me," Anna said.

Anna took sewing lessons before constructing the backpack. She then pieced together her invention's prototype. She said she'd like to somehow make more of the D-girl backpacks for other children.

Anna's father praised her for focusing on diabetes in her invention.

"Her mother and I are both very proud of the fact that she chose to do something so personal for this invention," Jeffrey Bemiss said. "Invention Convention hits on so many important parts of learning."

Bemiss said the project might have been therapeutic for Anna.

"It made her feel better," he said. "It empowered her. It made her feel like she could do something good over this terrible disease."

Her invention made its way to the state competition at the University of Connecticut, where she presented it to judges.

"It made me feel proud that I invented something that will help other people," she said.

Anna hopes to take part in the Invention Convention again this year, but she isn't sure what she'll invent next.